Diffuser and binder base for residue of evaporable material



June 16, 1953 5, w, MEEK ET AL 2,642,310-

DIFFUSER AND BINDER BASE FOR RESIDUE OF EVAPORABLE MATERIAL Filed March22, 1950 INVENTORS. 64-02 5 1/14 4155K M4 M1 166 Manse.

Patented June 16, 1953 UNITED STATES I PATENT OFFICE. I I 2,642,310" i VDIFFUSER AND BINDER BASE'FOR- RESIDUE.

or EVAPORABLE MATERIAL George w. Meek, Pelham', and William H.

Wheeler, New York, N. Y., assign'ors to Airkem, Inc, New York, N. Y., acorporation. :01 New York application March 22, 1950,"Serial .No.151,212

A general object of the present invention is to provide certain improveddifiuserfeatures and simple but efiecuve means in such structures whichassure automatic binding together or physically securing to a commonelement 7 segregable units of residue of 'evap'orable material to avoidannoying rattle of free residue units or unsightly arrangement 'of suchunits in an exhausted diffuser; such means adapted, when desired, toserve as an effective replacement indicating or warning means.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide in such diffuserapparatus having containe'r means or chamber structuref'or evaporablematerial the top surface ofthe bottom wall thereof of a characters'uchas tohave an efiective adherent aifinityfor residue of suchmaterial desirablyto bind segregable units thereof together. I 1

Another object of the present inventionis'the provision of such bindermeans in a :form characterized by a top surface which when exposed toview between separated bodies oi the residue units provides, by visualstructural or color con- 3 trast and/or charactersthereon,'indi'cating'mediuin to direct timely replacement of evap'orablematerial.

A further object of the present invention is to provide'structuralembodiments of the invention which may be-readily and economicallyproduced in commercial production and which permit simple and eficient:use and operation thereof. I

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will 'in part'appear hereinafter.

.Theinvention accordingly comprises the features of construction,combination of elements and arrangement of parts, which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter set indicated in the claims.

FOr' a fuller understanding lo'f' the -nature-andobjects ofthe'invention, Preference ish'ould -ibe bein 3 Claims. (Cl. 299- 24 hadto the 'iollowing detailed description taken in 'connectionwith theaccompanying drawing, inwhichz' r V Fig. 1 is *a-perspective view of adiffuser apparatus in use in which features of the present invention"may be embodied, showing the device manipulated to provide adjustedvapor outlets of particular size;

'2 is an enlarged elevational section taken substantially on line 2--2of Fig. 1;

"Fig. *3 is a perspective view, with parts removed, "broken away and'insection, of an inner container 'housable in the casing shown in Fig. 1inthe manner s'hown'i'nFig. 2 serving to carry a supply of theevaporable material there depicted as "a segmented "body ofgel;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of binder means of thepresent invention asembodied in the structuresshown inFigs. 2 and 3, showing separated unitsof residue of the evaporable material adhered thereto; "and T Fig. 5 isan enlarged central-fragmentary view 2 tile top of the binder means bestshown in Referring to the drawing, inhwhich like numeralsidentifysimilarsparts throughout, it will be "seen that the apparatusshown by way of example in.Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a base memher I [La-cover member l1 including a tray element IZ, and :a source of airtempering or freshening vapors. The base I0 consists of a substantially.cylindrical or circular wall 4 having .an open bottom l5 and a lateralinternal bottom flange l6 preferably made integral withtheicylindricalwall and adapted to iormasupporting ledge.The-cylindrical wall ['4 of the base llliisprovided at I! with'anexternal circular supporting-shoulder and a circular, rim flange I l 8thereabove; That :base structure is "preferably formed of cast plasticmaterial, but obviously can be formedof :anyrother-suitable material,such as metal, etc. j 7 The cover 1 I .is'in the formofa slip'top coverstructurehavingxa downwardly :dependi-ng flange 19adapted'to'ztelescope"overthe rim flange I? of the base structureland-with its loweredge 20 rotatably .restinguponthe "circular shoulderl1 oftthe latter. Preferably the cover II is made in ".twoparts, withthe depending flange portion l9 terminating 'at thetop thereof in alateral internal flange 2 l r on which is supported rim 22 ofv dished"tray 12. That portion of cover H V which forms the depending flange 19and the lateral supporting flange Z-l is preferably made fromcastplastic or anyother suitable material.

The dished tray I2 is made in the commercial embodiment from transparentglass permitting observation of the body of evaporable materialtherebeneath. This construction permits the use of colored opaqueplastic material in the formation of the side portions of the cover andof the base for enhancing the appearance of the device while retainingthe desired characteristic of permitting observation of the interiorfrom the top through the tray. Such observation may be desirable inorder to apprise the user when depletion of the evaporable material hasadvanced to such a degree as to make replacement advisable withoutnecessitating removal of the slip top cover II. When the tray l2 and theremainder of the cover II are made as separate units, as indicated, thetray rim 22 may, if desired, be cemented or otherwise suitably anchoredto the supporting flange 2i. However, it will be understood that thetray portion l2 could be made as an integral part of the remainder ofthe cover II in the casting operation of the latter, particularly if, asmay be desired, the whole slip top cover structure is made oftransparent material.

The base structure I!) and the cover I I are pro-' vided with suitablecooperating cut-outs to serve as vapor outlets, which could be alignableholes in the base rim flange I8 and the cover depending flang I9.However, in the preferred structure, such cut-outs for the base are inthe form of spaced notches 2323 in the rim flange I8 to providetherebetween circumambiently-spaced, upwardly-extending, curved orarcuate projections 242 i. The depending flange 19 of cover I I issimilarly notched at 25 25 to provide therebetweencircumambiently-spaced, downwardlyextending, curved or arcuateprojections 26-2G. When the cover I I is oriented relativeto the basestructure It by rotation of the projections 26-46 of the former on the'shoulder IT of'the latter to fully staggered relative positions theoutlet louver means provided by the described structure aresubstantially closed so as to minimize vapor emanation from the interiorof the base structure. If the cover H through a small radial anglerelative to the base structure If portions of the base structure notches23-23 will be brought to alignment with the cover notches 25-25 toprovide adjusted vapor outlets, as indicated in Fig. 1.

As indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, the evaporable material may be in theform of a scored body 21 of gel which maybe a jelled variant of the airfreshening composition described in Paschal Patent No. 2,326,672 ofAugust 10, 1943, .for Method and Composition for the Treatment of Air.Such a gel product is disclosed and claimed in the copending applicationof Turner et al., Serial No. l78,508,filed August 9, 1950; It is to beunderstood, however, that the body 21 of evap orable material may, ifdesired, be in the form of a liquid. The body of evaporable material 2?is suitably housed in a pan 218 having its circular bottom 29 restingupon the supporting base flange 25. In the commercial embodiment, thepan 28 forms the bottom of a slip top can structure in which theevaporable material may be diStI'ib-r uted, with the slip top coverthereof suitably removed at the time the unit I3 is loaded into theapparatus of the present invention;

It is a common practice to employ-such evaporable material in a formofabody of liquid containing solids insuspension and,;f; Course, when. suchv p r ble. material is produced in the form of a gel, such solids aredistributed throughout the body thereof. Consequently, as theconstituents capable of evaporation are released in the form of vapor,some of the solids compact to gether eventually to form a residue which,after complete evaporation, may become a dark, hard, misshapen body. Intheevent that the evaporable material contains chlorophyll so that it.may be a bright green when fresh, such dried diffusers where no attemptis made to take advantage of features of the present invention, suchresidue has a tendency to be free from or freed from adjacent surfacesof diffuser chamber walls and, as a single body or broken piecesthereof. to rattle around annoyingly in the device when moved. This isparticularly true when the body 2'! of evaporable material is in theform of a segmented body of gel, as proposed by way of example in theaccompanying drawing. As therein indicated, the cylindrical body of gel21 may be segmentedin a pattern providing a pinrality of wedge units3Ii3ii arranged about a central core unit 3I, one such wedge unit beingshown removed in Fig. 3 for clarity.

In accordance with the present invention, the bottom wall 29 ofcontainer 28 has the top surface thereof conditioned or provided in aform so that it has an adherent aihnity for the residue of the wedgeunits 38-30 and the core unit 32. Although such top surface might beprovidedby a layer of loosely matted cellulosic fibers or by a separatesheet of impervious material, such as then: be rotated plastic or metal,provided with a number of small apertures or the like, it is formed inthe embodiment shown by way of example in the drawing as a porous paperor cardboard disc 32 closely fitting within the container 28 upon thebottom 29 of the latter. The semi-absorbent character of the cellular orfibrous structure of the paper or cardboard disc 32 assures somepenetration therein of the liquid constituent of the evaporable materialor gel body thereof so as to provide a secure bond between the residueand the disc as the evaporable material gives oil vapor to dryness ofthe shrunken residue. The dried segregated units of residue are shown at3333 in Fig. 4 and the shapes thereof as indicated in thatfigure closelyresemble those of residue units as actually observed. All of the piecesor units of residue 33-33 have been found to be tightly retained uponthe surface of the disc 32, so as to avoid any possibility of rattlingaround in thediffuser or to be disarranged therein in anunattractivefashion, as contrasted with the fixed arrangementof thesegregated units in a desired attractive pattern as provided by thepresent in vention made apparent in Fig. 4. The rather considerable userobjection to this tendency for the segregated units of residue to rattlearound in the diffusers, to spill out and to pile up in unsightlydisarrangements has'been effectively eliminatedby employing this binderbase feature of the present invention. It is to be understood that suchbinding characteristic is attainable within the scope of the presentinvention by the employment of a properly conditioned top sur-' face ofthe bottom 29 of container 28 as well as by the use of a separate discof suitable structure, such as 32; and that the latter permits, ifdesired, separation and removal of the disc with its attached units ofresidue from the container. The porosity of the base surface is alsouseful in reducing the amount of. free synaeresis certain quantities ofwhich may be present in cans of theserves as a replacement indicator,advising the user to replace the evaporable material unit l3 in thediffuser apparatus. For this purpose, the top surface of the bindermeans or the upper face of disc 32 may be provided with suitable indiciaindicating such replacement, such as the words replace gel now, asindicated in Fig. 5, ar-

ranged in some attractive pattern, such as the circle 34. tinting of thetop surface of disc 32 may be of a bright green hue visually to contrastwith the greenish black color of the segregated units of residue 33-33.It is to be understood, however, that any other sharply contrasting huemay be employed for the tinting of the top surface of the disc 32 ifdesired. The attractive design or arrangement of the adhered units ofresidue upon As a result, f

Further, as proposed in Fig. 5, the

as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: l. A dispensing unitof volatilizable material containing minor portions of nonvolatilizingresidue forming components, said dispensing unit comprising a'relativelyfiat receptacle having an enlarged bottom wall, a low peripheral sidewall, andbeing open at the top thereof, and

- said bottomwall having a thin fibrous layer arthe binder means or disc32 may be predetermined by the pattern in which the body of gel 21 issegmented so as to assure a pleasing and attractive arrangement of theadhered segregated units of residue. The shrinking or contracting of thegel units 3030 and 3| upon progressive vaporization of evaporableconstituents, with at-. tendant increase in spacing as the marginsof thebases thereof progressively recede, is particulary advantageous withrespect to this replacement indicating feature since exposure ofappreciable areas of the disc 32 and directions printed thereon is thusassured.

It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those madeapparent from the preceding description, are efliciently attained and,since certain, changes may be made in the above construction anddifierent'embodiments of the invention could be made without departingfrom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended tocover all of the generic and specific features of the invention hereindescribed, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as amatter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described our invention, what we claim Numb er ranged along andin close proximity thereto, the surface of said fibrous layerbeing'adherent to the -volatilizable material and providing'means foradhering bodies of said nonvolatilizing residue in fixed position withrespect to said receptacle.

2. A dispensin unit of'volatilizable material I containing minorportions of nonvolatilizing residue forming components, said dispensingunit comprising arelatively flat receptacle having'an enlarged bottomwall, a low peripheral side wall, andbeing open at the top thereof, andsaid bottom wall having a thin sheet of fibrous material arranged alongand in close proximity thereto, the surface of said sheet of fibrousmaterial being adherent tothe volatilizable material and providing meansfor adhering bodies of said nonvolatilizing residue in fixed positionwith respect tosaid receptacle.

3 A dispensing unit of volatiliza'ble material containing minor portionsof nonvolatilizing residue forming components, said dispensing 'unitcomprising a relatively flat receptaclehaving an enlarged bottom wall, alow peripheral side wall,

and being open at the top thereof, said bottom wall having a thin sheetof fibrous material arranged along and in close proximity thereto, thesurface of said sheet of fibrous material being adherent to thevolatilizable material and providing means for adhering bodies of saidnonvolatilizing residue in fixed position with respect to saidreceptacle, and said sheet being character-- ized to function as areplacement indicator as portions thereof become-exposed throughevapoiatilon of volatilizable materialffrom said recep ac e.

GEORGE W. MEEK. WILLIAM H. WHEELER.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NameDate 1,732,028 Reiner Oct. 15, 1929 1,742,962 McCrosky Jan. 7, 19301,988,141 Schaller Jan. 15, 1935 2,038,071 Wilhelm Apr. 21, 19362,383,960 Dupuy Sept. 4,

